


It's Fate - Not Luck

by KireinaAme



Category: Free!
Genre: Drabble, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-02 10:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5244713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KireinaAme/pseuds/KireinaAme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Headcanon about Nagisa's thoughts in trying to find that fourth member of their newly formed swim club in Season 1. (Reigisa if you squint)</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Fate - Not Luck

**Author's Note:**

> While I was out of commission being sick and in pain, I watched both season of Free! and kinda sorta fell in love with every character. So here is my very first Free! drabble. Maybe I’ll do one for each character??? Who knows.
> 
> I’m still working on stories for other fandoms but drabbles seem to help me the best when I’m short on time, focus, and physical energy. So please excuse my foray into yet another fandom.
> 
> And be kind, this was written within 20 minutes and while under the influence of painkillers…

If he were to be  _completely_  honest… Yes, he had some ulterior motives in wanting to be the person to find their fourth member for the newly formed swim club. Not in any evil kind of motives, of course. And it was more than the mere personal satisfaction of knowing he could convince another student when the others couldn’t.

He was especially grateful that the newest member turned out to be a first year just like him! So really, everything worked out totally in his favor! And if they hadn’t? Well, at the  _very_  least, he probably would have pouted about it for a few days publically. (Though he likely would have sulked pretty hard for a few days in private.) At worst though… well, he didn’t want to consider it. He was always incredibly uncomfortable when experiencing negative emotions. He was never able to easily stomach the dark heaviness of sadness, disappointment, or loneliness.

Being such a naturally cheerful, optimistic, and social person he rarely ever delved into gloomier feelings. Not simply because he ignored them, but he honestly rarely  _had_  them. His natural disposition was just too positive and hopeful for any destructive sentiment to really take root and grow. And though he knew he may come across as a little air-headed, he had enough self-awareness to be extremely thankful for his temperament. He could find the silver lining in almost any situation.

Still, if he  _were_  to be honest… He really wanted the new club member to be someone just for him. Not that he wouldn’t share the friendship with the others, of course. They were going to be the best team ever! And he loved Makoto and Haru dearly, had been friends with them since their elementary school days, but he knew he was the  _plus one_  in their group. He didn’t grow up down the street from them. He wasn’t in the same grade as them. He barely even saw them when he hit middle school since they had quit competitive swimming the year prior. Persistently together, they were ‘Makoto and Haru’, ‘Haru and Makoto’. And he was their friend, Nagisa.

The extraordinary friendship ( _relationship_ , he would insist despite protests to the contrary) those two had together was something to be admired, something that most friends ( _couples_ ) could spend years trying to emulate. Nagisa always thought it was beautiful. Something truly special. And after his reunion with his two swim-mates and starting to experience high school in all its  _almost-grown-up_  glory, he found himself wanting to have the exact same thing. So while his ulterior motive wasn’t evil, even he admitted it was a  _little_  selfish.

He wanted a best friend that was only  _his_  best friend. He wanted someone that would pick him first if they paired up for projects. Someone who wanted to spend time with him before anyone else. He wanted to go visit his house so often that he would have to keep a change of clothes there for impromptu sleepovers. He wanted his best friend to be over at his house so often that his parents would ask where his best friend was when it’d been too long since the last visit. He wanted someone he could laugh at inside jokes with by merely making eye contact. He wanted their names to be said together automatically when someone talked about them, simply because he and his best friend were hardly ever found separate. Someone who would accept the silliest, weirdest, and most secret parts of himself, while Nagisa did the same for him. He wanted someone to be by his side when Makoto and Haru graduated and left to start the next phase of life together (because, seriously, he couldn’t see them being apart –  _ever_ ).

Life would be fine without this hypothetical best friend, he knew. He was never found wanting for company at any point and he was outgoing enough to easily make new friends. But there were  _friends_  and then there were  _best friends_. And he wanted it so much! So he thought that maybe if he was the one to recruit a student into their swim club, he could find that one special best friend!

And despite Rei being nothing at all like he had imagined his theoretically ideal best friend to be – he was adorably dorky, ridiculously intelligent, and frustratingly responsible – Nagisa once again considered himself blessed by fate. He found his best friend –  _the best_   _ever!_

So maybe his best friend didn’t share his affinity for candy and sweets. But Rei would always worry about Nagisa and was a pro at stopping him from consuming enough to cause a stomachache. And maybe his best friend didn’t watch much television and couldn’t name any new game releases, but Rei would always offer to go to the movie theater with him on the condition that Nagisa finish all of his homework first – with his help, of course. And maybe his best friend was a little too serious for most of Nagisa’s mischievous endeavors, but Rei always did his best to keep him out of serious trouble. Rei was his natural balance.

So call him an air-head if you want, but how could Nagisa be anything but joyful about life? His swim team was more than wonderful. The relays they swam at competition were amazing. His friends (even from a rival swim team) were delightful. His first year of high school was simply brilliant. And if he were to be totally honest, his best friend was  _perfect_.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Christina Perri’s song “Penguin” – which is so perfect, it’s ridiculous. 
> 
> I know this is only a drabble so I can’t get all the feels out that I want all in one shot. So this is more a headcanon, I suppose. But I hope the effervescent, jubilant nature of Nagisa came out. I know the writers wanted him to be “100% pure” without a dark side but no one is perfect. Though I do see him as a person just overflowing with love and joy, in general. 
> 
> I think he could have had a little envy/loneliness when third-wheeling with MakoHaru early on. And he does show capacity for depression, withdrawal, and fear during season 2, episode 5 when he’s hiding from his parents. So he’s a pretty well-rounded character. In fact, I think all of the characters are and I love that. He was the first one I fell in love with on the show so he’s my first jump into this fandom!


End file.
